Easter Bunny Basket

by Ralph Dewey

The Balloon HQ challenge this month is an Easter basket.

For this month's column I'm sharing a fun table decoration or gift idea. It incorporates the rabbit's face and teeth into the handle of the basket. Plus you have the heart shape of the handle to also make it more special.

Basket:

The basket is made using the flat weave technique. I make three rungs from two pink #260 balloons. The rungs are all 9 inches long. Refer to my old BalloonHQ archived article (the flat weave car) for details about how to make the flat weave.

The Eggs:

The eggs are made from the nipples ends of #260 balloons. I inflate them to be about 3 inches long. I used a green, orange and red balloon and marked them like Easter eggs.

Head:

Inflate a pink #260 fully except for about 5 inches and tie off the nozzle. To make the rabbit's head twist off a 1" bubble (the top notch) and ear twist it. Twist off two 4" bubbles (the eyes) and twist-connect the ends. Twist off another 4" bubble (the back of the head) and roll it through the two eye bubbles. Twist off two 6" bubbles (the cheeks) and twist-connect the ends. Twist off a soft 1" bubble (the nose) and ear twist it. When you make a bubble soft and ear twist it, it takes on a more round shape rather than the typical kidney bean shape.

Ears:

To make the ears, inflate a pink #160 fully except for about 1" and tie the nozzle and nipple ends together to form a loop. Twist the loop in half with the knot in the center. Connect the center of it to the top notch. Bend the ears downward as shown.

Teeth/Handle:

The teeth and handle are made from a single white #160 balloon. Inflate it fully except for about 1", burp it so that it will be a little soft. Tie off the nozzle. Find the middle and twist it there. Fold the balloon and twist off two 1-1/2" bubbles (the teeth). Wedge them behind the nose bubble and under the cheeks. Position the two long ends of the balloon so they come out on top of the cheeks. Curve them into a heart shape and attach the ends to the top corners of the basket.

Decorate:

Use a black balloon marking pen to draw the eyes, whiskers and a triangle for the nose.

Option:

You can change the flat weave basket to another style of woven basket and it could actually be used to gather eggs. Of course it won't hold too many real eggs because their weight would make it sag.